Thoughts from our Travels across Western Canada: Philippians 2:3&4, Deuteronomy 6:7, Matthew 13:44, Galatians 5:22-23

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 31 July 2022 by Major Michael Ramsay

 

We had a great furlough. Susan and Heather have been gone for about a month; Sarah-Grace and I flew out to meet them about 2 weeks ago in Winnipeg. We then all drove back across Western Canada. Today I am going to chat about a few lessons learned and/or things that were reinforced for me along the way.

  

Lesson One: Philippians 2:3&4: Human Responsibilities

 

 

One place Sarah-Grace and I visited early in our adventure was the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg. This is a big building with lots of ramps, and stairs, and walking. They seemed to have walking for the sake of walking, as a good portion of the museum was just long empty ramps to get from one floor to the next. There were a number of exhibits in the building – but not on the ramps. There was, of course, a big section on Germany during the second world war and the holocaust. There was also information about the Rwandan genocide and other terrible things from history.

I noticed that many of the most horrible and violent atrocities in history have been incited by us focusing on our rights rather than our responsibilities: I deserve this (good thing); therefore they deserve (something bad) because they took away my rights - my rights, her rights, his rights. It really seemed clear reading about persecutions, purges, and genocides; it really struck me about times and places where human societies commit horrible atrocities that the perpetrators always seem to focus on their rights. Many in Germany in the 1930s were upset at what had been done to them, how they had been victimized and how they had to make it right. That is how the Nazis came to power. The Hutus focused on Hutu rights and the Tutsi privilege and previous atrocities that a previous generation of Tutsi or others had done to them. Looking through the displays about the many horrific things that we people have done to each other, the people committing the crimes seem to always believe that they are actually the victims, they are righting a wrong, and that the other is ‘getting what they deserve’. They are focusing on their perceived rights as more important than others’: Only Hutu lives matter. As Christians of course, we should know better. We all know the acronym J.O.Y: Jesus. Others. Yourself. Many times the scriptures tell us we should consider God first, then others, then ourselves. Philippians 2:1-4 says:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

…in humility value others above yourselves; don’t look out for your own interests but the interests of others. This is the Christian message. Social media and various social movements these days, even here in Canada, seem to be very much focused on people loudly screaming, “I have the right to do this…” Be wary. Be very wary of this. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24:

““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” As Christians, it is imperative that we focus not on our real, perceived or imagined rights but rather on our responsibilities and how we can help one another.

 

Lesson 2: Deuteronomy 6:7: Teach your Children

 

 

          We were able to see many other interesting things while we were in Winnipeg too: the Art Gallery, the Forks, the Museum, the Hockey Sweater the musical, St. Boniface, Booth College… and we even stayed in the same room there we stayed in when we first lived in Winnipeg for a couple of nights before we camped at Birds Hill Park. In between visiting Winnipeg and reminiscing about our time living there 15 years ago we went to pick up Heather from Ukrainian Camp in Gimli – this camp is why we were here. Heather has been learning Ukrainian, as you probably know. Susan’s mom has Ukrainian heritage, and she may have even gone to this camp herself many, many years ago. Coming back, we even stopped by Vegreville to see the world’s largest pysanki (Easter Egg). This is all part of her and Susan’s heritage; just like the Highland Dancing Heather and Sarah-Grace have done is part of their heritage on both sides of the family. This got me to thinking about our Christian heritage and how important it is that we pass on our Christian life. Jesus talks about eating together in remembrance of Him and how He delivers us unto eternal life. We are commanded to never stop meeting together. The Passover, similar to and in some ways foreshadowing this, is all about remembering how God delivered the Israelites from slavery into the Promised Land. The 10 Commandments themselves are all about passing on our heritage and relationship with God to future generations. Deuteronomy 6:1-2, 7-9 and 12 says this,

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God… Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…. be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Our heritage is important. Teaching future generations the lessons, love and forgiveness that is part and parcel of serving the Lord, is how we carry on our heritage of loving God forward through the generations and into a future of His Salvation.

 

Lesson 3: Matthew 13:44: Heaven is a Great Treasure

 

 

          After Winnipeg we were able to go to Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current in Saskatchewan. This is also very much a part of our children’s heritage. Not only do they have three or four great grandparents from Saskatchewan but Heather was born there and Rebecca and Sarah-Grace really grew up there. We celebrated the Riders (even though they lost); we were able to see the tunnels of Moose Jaw (a great tourist stop) and got to see a lot of old friends. It was good.

          Next we went to Alberta and stopped at the West Edmonton Mall. Heather really wanted to see the Mall. We went there on Susan’s Birthday. Susan and Sarah-Grace went shopping and spent a good day together while Heather and I spent the day in the waterpark inside the mall before we all met for a birthday dinner. There were a lot of great waterslides. We went on a few of them – not all of them by any means. We spent most of our time in the wave pool.

In the wave pool, everyone stands waiting for these giant waves to come crashing over you and then you try to either jump over them, into them, or just hold firm without being swept away. It was fun. One thing that struck me was the singularity of focus. You had fun but there was no doubt why everyone was in that pool. When the horn sounded and the waves rolled, we all responded. This reminded me of the Holy Spirt greeting the disciples in Acts 2 who were eagerly awaiting Him. It also reminded me of the pearl of great price and Matthew 13:44 where we are told that “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” This is how the Christian life is meant to work – as we focus on Christ, the results are worth more than anything else in the world.

 

Lesson 4: Galatians 5:23-24: The Mark of God Upon Us

 

 

With so many people in bathing suits, I also noticed just how many people have tattoos these days. I think the majority of people between 15 and 50 probably have a tattoo of some kind – and some have lots. The 15-year-olds, I hope they still like whatever it is that they have tattooed on their bodies when they are 50 years old. A lot will change for them between now and then but that tattoo will probably stay the same.

          What my mind thought of when I saw this was… what are the tattoos, the markings of a Christian life? What are the things that when people look at a child of God they will see? What indelible marks does the Holy Spirit put on our lives. I do hope that it is indeed the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 and 25: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

After Alberta we continued on through BC stopping to see Rebecca and heading home and as I reflect on this trip it really is my hope that it will be a reminder for me (and maybe all of us here) to

 

·       Philippians 2:3,4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Remembering that

·       Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” so

·       Deuteronomy 6:7: “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” For

·       Galatians 5:22-23a: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

 

May we always have that in our lives.

 

Let us pray

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and if you like this, you may enjoy Salvogesis Guide to Romans Road available here:

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Ezekiel 33:7-11 and 2 Peter 3:9: Hope and the Ropes

Presented to The Salvation Army Swift Current Corps, 24 July 2022, and the Summer Rain Evangelistic Festival, 07 August 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay

Click here to read the message: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/09/ezekiel-337-11-and-2-peter-39-1-hope.html

Ecclesiastes 9:11, Matthew 5:45, Romans 8:28, John 10:10b, John 16:33: Reflections upon Driving to Camp

 Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay

 

The children went to and from camp this week. In the end I think we had 22 or 23, 7- to 12-year-old campers accompanied for their journey anyway by a number of chaperones. It was interesting. There were the usual challenges, of course, of some people not being able to make it at the last minute and people’s phones no longer being in service – but this time there was more, much more.

 

First, the bus caught fire. Truly. It was a real blessing that none of the kids were on it yet. We had to scramble to find enough cars and drivers to get the children to the ferry and we even had to press Remi (our Food Bank driver) into action, driving the cube van with everyone’s luggage in it. And remember that the camp is in Gibson’s so the children have to catch 2 ferries to get there; so we are under a bit of a time crunch. We race to Nanaimo (as fest as the speed limits will permit, of course). Almost everyone had made it to the ferry but one car was just not coming. We were waiting. We were wondering. We were waiting.

 

Mayor Sharie Minions was driving (she was one of the chaperones that came with us all the way on both Monday and Friday and we are so thankful for her and all our drivers). It appears that the adventures for the morning weren’t over for her yet. As she was driving over the hump, a car came towards her careening out of control. It spun right towards her, in her lane, at high speeds; she recalled that she has no idea how she missed it: self-aware car features, reflexes? The grace of God intervened for sure. The car just missed her and her carload of kids and crashed into a guardrail on the oncoming side of the road. She stopped, called 9-11 (which is always an adventure in and of itself; it really is not a useful feature being that it is never staffed by local people – but that is another story); she called the children’s parents to let them know that their kids were okay and make sure that people were still good to go to camp and then she did make it to the ferry just in time for us to buy our tickets.

 

There was one more breath-holding moment at the ticket booth because earlier in the week reservations weren’t working and we usually try to make reservations for groups this large and also earlier in the week my corporate visa wasn’t working so we had to get The Salvation Army to sort that out – I wouldn’t want to have to try and buy that many tickets any other way. It all worked out and we got our kids to camp. Now this isn’t the end of the story though – there was the ride back…

 

The day we went to get them was Friday. You remember what happened all across Canada on this past Friday? Rogers’ network was down so no interact and no visa in many places. As I was driving to the ferry, I was wondering indeed how and if we would be able to get all of these kids home again – it is a bit of money for all these folks on the ferry (especially since the 12-year-olds pay full fare!). We get there and none of our drivers/chaperones who are parking their cars to get on the ferry to meet the kids can get the parking permit machine to work. They tried Visa, Interact, even cash. At this point we are more than a little concerned. I go up to the counter to buy our ferry passes and… apparently Visa worked just fine with the ferries – just not interact, so that was a big relief!

 

But there was more – this time not our adventure but the Victoria group. We bought our tickets to come back to the Island as soon as we could. The moment the ticket sales opened for our sailing and we had all our kids present and accounted for, we lined up to purchase our tickets and then we took the kids down to the beach to wait (for I don’t know? ¾ hour or so?) with all of the other Salvation Army groups returning to the Island – Courtney-Comox, Parksville, Campbell River, Nanaimo, all the Victoria corps…

 

When the time came, we boarded the ferry and headed for home. When we were on the ferry I saw Pat Humble. He has been in charge of family services for all of the Victoria corps for years. I’ve known Pat pretty much since the day Susan and I first went to a Salvation Army many years ago. He told me his story of camp. He made it on the ferry back to the Island - but none of the kids from the Victoria corps did. The kids were still on the mainland – but he was on the ferry back to the Island. He is a very nice guy and not very easy to fluster at all! But he was less than impressed with the 5 chaperones who were with the children, who were supposed to get them on this ferry. You see Victoria brought a van on the ferry with all the children’s supplies: Pat was driving this which is why he was on the ferry. Not one of the chaperones apparently thought to buy the tickets for the kids until the ferry was just about to leave and by then it was too late so they remained stranded on the mainland for another hour or two and now Pat was desperately trying to get a hold of the bus line that they had hired to drive all the Victoria kids back home again, and their parents, and, and, and…

 

Camp can be fun – who knew getting there and back would be quite the adventure? (The kids did all seem to have a really good time though!) In the midst of all this I am sure there was no shortage of prayer. A couple of competing thought kept coming to my mind through this experience that I will sum up with these verses, though there are many similar verses from each perspective.

·       Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

·       John 10:10b: … I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

And

·       Matthew 5:45: He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

·       Ecclesiastes 9:11: I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

·       John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

In some denominations there are always those who believe that only pleasant, nice, prosperous events happen to those who love the Lord. The rest of us however grasp the fact that the race is not to the strong, time and circumstance happen to us all, and that life’s battles belong to the Lord. However, in the midst of trying times – even times much more trying than getting kids to and from camp – we can be tempted as was Job to complain and blame. There have certainly been stressful times in my life – again much more stressful than these stories – where I have looked in front of or above me and called out loudly to the Lord in anguish not knowing where or why or anything except frustration. That all being said the sometimes seemingly competing ideas of Romans 8 and Matthew 5 competed briefly in my mind this week

·       Matthew 5:45 He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

And

·       Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

To what is Romans 8 referring? This could be a long conversation… Romans 8 really is bound to Romans 7. These two chapters have a lot to say about the Christian life and holiness and everything else. One of the things to which Romans 8:28 is referring is the idea that we have quoted many times from Major Ivany that in the end everything will be alright; so (take heart because) if it isn’t alright it isn’t the end. Romans 8 does spend a lot of time talking about the eternal spirit within us that is seemingly struggling with the mortal body around us and does offer up the hope that one day our perishable body will be (as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:53) clothed in immortality.

 

Some of the challenges with just putting this all in a future tense though could come from what we saw in the aftermath of the US civil war. A very strong racism, segregation, discrimination, oppression was forced upon a whole people, a whole culture. The struggle certainly hasn’t ended yet. In the midst of everything there were some great, solid people of faith who have led and continue to lead down there. I am really impressed with how God used MLK jr and others in their time and circumstance. Some other faithful folks from an even earlier time penned the many great ‘spirituals’ that have a solid Christian message that sometimes, however, may seem to put too much of our hope or even all our hope on the other side of the metaphorical River Jordan, in the future Heaven, not leaving room for hope in the present. This thought can be summed up in an expression that was common when I was quite a bit younger, “Life’s a b…, life’s hard and then you die”. I think life is much more than that. I believe that Christ called us to live life abundantly.

 

But what does it mean to live life abundantly? Does it mean that everything is always going to come up roses? Does it mean that everything is always going to be easy? What does it mean that all things work for good for those who love the Lord? Does it mean that there are no difficult times for those who love the Lord? The scriptures are quite clear that for those who love the Lord, in this life there will be struggles: many of Jesus’ early followers spent many years in prison followed by violent deaths. We have all seen in our lives that time and circumstance happen to all (as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes drive home). So what does it mean to live life abundantly?

 

My mind goes to John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And my mind goes to reconciliation. And my mind goes to forgiveness. I think that this is the means by which Christ’s freedom is lived out in our lives.

 

I have done a lot of work in the prisons and the courts in my life and ministry. One absolute travesty (of many) in our criminal justice system is the victim impact statement. There is not much more vicious a society could do to a victim than we do by compelling them to make a victim impact statement years after they have been victimized. The victim is told to hold onto and even grow (or conjure up) the hate they have for the person who committed the crime. They are told not to forgive. They are told to ask for the strong punishment for the person who wronged them. They are told to hold onto this hate and unforgiveness for years and then – no matter how harsh a sentence is meted out on the other person, they always feel that if they hated them a little more than they may have ‘gotten what they deserve’. This victim impact statement process re-victimizes the victim. They are compelled to hang onto hate and unforgiveness for years, when we know that the sooner we can get over a traumatic event, the better our success rate in doing so. It is vicious to the victims. In many cases our system forces the victims to be trapped in their trauma forever when healing could have been available right away. I have seen this play out time and time again.

 

The Christian response to evil is the opposite to this. God wants us to be free of hate – for hate destroys us. It is all-consuming. Unforgiveness can ruin our whole lives. It can make us unable to work, it can make us unable to have relationships, it can drive us to addiction. Sometime people even suffer physical symptoms to go along with the emotional and spiritual symptoms of unforgiveness. The devil can use unforgiveness to destroy our whole live.

 

I truly believe that contrary to this, the message of the Gospel, the Good News of Christ is that of reconciliation with one another and with God and I truly believe that the only way we can be reconciled with anyone is to forgive them. The only way we can have peace with others – or even ourselves – in when we are able to forgive (cf. Matthew 5:43-47).

 

When we forgive we can love and when we love we will indeed have life abundantly. I am sure we have all seen people who seem to have had every advantage in life but are absolutely miserable and I know that -especially in our Salvation Army context- we have seen many people who seem to have nothing at all and many people who seem to have had nothing go right for them at all but have been experiencing perfect freedom in Christ; I am convinced that this freedom in Christ comes from our reconciliation with God, our fellow person and that this all comes out of forgiveness which we can all dispense as God has already given it to us (to dispense); so that He can love even us, even me and we can love each other so we will love Him.

 

Jesus says, John 10: 10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Let us pray…

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Dual Citizenship: Hebrews 11:13-16 and Philippians 3:10-4:1

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 03 July 2022 and 30 June 2024, by Major Michael Ramsay

This is the 2022 version. The see the 2024 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2024/07/dual-citizenship-hebrews-1113-16-and.html

I was at a board meeting for the Neighbourlink Society: a group that provides food for children in the schools. Many of the people on the board have been friends for years. They were telling a few good stories. John and Carol are very good friends. John was giving Carol a hard time about her cooking because apparently shortly after she fed him a grilled cheese sandwich he had a heart attack – he was saying, ‘don’t let Carol make anyone any food’. Carol then told us more of the story. John was coming over to mow her lawn and after he had a lunchbreak, he headed outside to finish the work… and he did have a heart attack. They called the ambulance. It was quite significant. Carol was quite concerned. They took him to the hospital and then they actually had to fly him out by helicopter. You have to really understand the humour of these two for the rest of the story. As he was going up in the helicopter with his family and everyone around Carol yelled out, ”and don’t think I’m paying you! You didn’t finish the job!” The paramedic with John, in the helicopter, apparently said “I wouldn’t want to work for her” and then they heard her yell, “and don’t think I’m going to give you a reference”. John and Carol were laughing hysterically as they were recounting the story – especially as no one else there, at the hospital, at the time (including his adult son, I believe) realized that it was a joke. This made them laugh all the more.

This then got the stories going. One of them was telling the story of when their husband was in the hospital. A friend of theirs came to see him. Now he was in one of those rooms with more than one bed and there was a curtain drawn around his bed; so the friend went up to the other bed and thinking it was Fred (or whatever the husband’s name is) said, “Oh my goodness – Fred you look so bad I don’t even recognize you!” Fred's family then poked their heads out of where they were and said, “cut that out, come over here...”

 

Another lady told a story about when her mother went to the hospital to see her father and she leaned over to give him a big kiss only to realize that the fellow she kissed wasn’t her husband.

John then relayed the story of when he came up behind his friend and blew in his ear, for a joke, only to find out that it wasn’t his friend at all. It was some complete stranger’s ear he was blowing into. That gentleman did not receive that gesture very well at all. Board meetings can fun...

Friday was Canada Day. The Salvation Army had a float in the parade. It was a lot of fun. In light of the fact that it was just Canada Day, I thought that we would look at the verse from the Order of Canada (and more) today. Can anyone tell me:

 

• What is the motto of the Order of Canada? desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "they desire a better country"

• Where does it come from? Hebrews 11:16

 

The Motto of the Order of Canada comes from Hebrews 11:16, “they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” 

Pierre Eliot Trudeau when he established the Order of Canada applied this verse to our nation but of course this verse refers to more than just our nation or any nation. It is great that he wanted to apply these Christian ideals to our country, just as an earlier generation had applied the Christian ideals of Psalm 72:8 to our nation – with the hope that our country would always take care of the poor and those on the margins. But to fully ascribe this verse to our nation, of course, would be a case of mistaken identity not entirely dissimilar from our opening stories. This verse and this passage (though extended) obviously isn’t actually referring to Canada. It is referring to someplace else. The second part of the verse, where it says that God has prepared a city for them… to what city is the author of the Hebrews referring? The new Jerusalem. 

 

• Hebrews 12:22, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God” (cf. 13:14)

• Revelation 3:12 “Him who overcomes (I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.) I will write on him the Name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.”

• Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

At the eschaton – the end of everything – the New Jerusalem, as referred to in Hebrews, Revelations, Philippians, and Thessalonians (where it mentioned the saints going to meet the Lord as He comes down) among other places, the city prepared for God’s children will come down from heaven to earth. 

Philippians 3:20 says this, “… our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

Let us read again from Chapter 3 because this Friday we have just celebrated Canada Day and today, like all Sundays, we are celebrating on the Lord’s Day with our fellow citizens of Heaven. Let’s read some encouragement from Heaven, where as Christians, our primary citizenship resides. How should we, who will be resurrected, live out our time here in Canada as dual citizens of Heaven? While we are living here, we are actually primarily citizens of Heaven and the new Jerusalem which will descend from Heaven. Philippians 3:15 through 4:1 says this: 

 

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained [our citizenship in Heaven].

17 Join together in following my example, brothers [and sisters], and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

We have just had Canada Day this week and there are many good things and other things about celebrating Canada Day. I always used to love Canada Day – the parades, the picnics, the celebrations, some places have fireworks. Last Canada Day was quite somber as I spoke at the legion in light of both Covid-19 and the discovery of probable graves at the IRS and all the controversy around our government lowering our flag and not knowing how to raise it appropriately. This year it was good to celebrate again the many good things that we experience as part of Canadian community but there is more to life than that. There is much more. You see, even as good as the best parts of being Canadian are, we do have a dual citizenship and our other citizenship is Heaven and so even as we rejoice in the things God has done in and through Canada – and there are many good things, Hebrews 11:16, we are still longing for a better country—a heavenly one. For God is not ashamed to be called our God, for he has prepared that city for us.

 

That is our hope.

 

Let us pray.

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